Rambam and NOMA

Ludwik Kowalski has previously provided some of his responses to our Saturday morning Torah study sessions, led by Rabbi Schwartz, where the recent focus has been on the Mishneh Torah of Rambam, aka Maimonides, and his attempt to integrate the scientific knowledge of his time and Jewish theology derived from Torah and Talmud. You can read Ludwik's earlier comments in the posts, Thoughts on Torah Study and Scientific Vs. Theological Justifications. Here now is his latest commentary:  

 

DO YOU AGREE?

The following advice is from page 47 of our prayer book:

"Pray as if everything depended upon God, act as if everything depended on you." 

I think that this is consistent with the idea of NOMA, formulated by the biologist Stephen Gould. We exist in the material world; God exists in the spiritual world. The context in which the idea of NOMA (non-overlapping magisteria) was formulated is summarized in my article about futile conflicts between theists and atheists:  Futile Confrontations Between Theists and Atheists.

Responses to Ludwik's thoughts are welcome, and we will be happy to post relevant comments on our Torah study and other matters here on our congregational blog.